Song of the Day: Spoon – Rent I Pay

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, is “Rent I Pay” by Spoon from the forthcoming album They Want My Soul on Loma Vista Records.

Spoon may have taken a few years off since we last saw them on 2010’s Transference, but if the few tracks they’ve released from They Want My Soul are any indicator, they haven’t lost an ounce of energy in the downtime. Not that there was really much downtime – Britt Daniel spent those years in between recording an LP with Divine Fits and touring, as well as working with Split Single. But with the announcement of the new Spoon record, the mood has swung back to tried and true Spoon mantra. With the cool sing-along of “Do You” and the atmospheric, introspective groove of “Inside Out”, They Want My Soul is shaping up to be another in an extensive list of modern classics, and we can hardly wait until it drops and we can soundtrack the rest of the summer with it.

As good as “Do You” and “Inside Out” are, no new Spoon track throws down quite as hard as “Rent I Pay”. A gunshot snare opens the track and starts a four minute collection of sharp, poignant bursts of energy over perfectly crafted space in between. Daniel’s guitars on this track couldn’t be better utilized, with every rip into the chords with perfect timing, never offering up too much. As we got to hear just a couple days ago at Capitol Hill Block Party, the placement here is rapturous. As the lyrics detail the frustrations of daily life’s monotonies, every instrument offers up just enough to get by while making the space in between extremely effective. In that, the instrumental track is the perfect pairing to the lyrics – another bit of Spoon genius if there ever was one.

Feel free to grab “Rent I Pay” above and put it on every summer barbeque playlist you have. They Want My Soul is out August 5 on Loma Vista. Pre-order the vinyl here and get a free 10” of the singles along with your order. Spoon was just in town playing this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party. You can check our coverage here. Be sure to tune in to KEXP on August 5 at 12PM to hear an exclusive set we recorded with them last week. (It was awesome!) For now, here’s their “kidpocolyptic” video for “Do You”, another song from the forthcoming album: